The middle ear is the part of the ear that is enclosed behind the eardrum. A tiny tube, called the eustachian tube, drains any fluids from the middle ear into the throat. Colds and episodes of allergic runny nose, due to airborne allergens or allergies to cow’s milk or other foods, block this eustachian tube with mucus and inflammation. When this tiny mucous-membrane-lined canal is closed off, ...

The classic presentation of congenital cholesteatoma is a pearl behind the anterior-superior quadrant of an intact tympanic membrane. Idiopathic hemotympanum is characterized by a dark blue eardrum, the most prominent feature of which is the presence of cholesterol granulomas. Blue eardrum is associated with eustachian tube dysfunction. Despite the well-established relationship between eustachi...

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OBJECTIVE To study the role of eustachian tube function in the development of recurrent otitis media with effusion (OME) in children treated with tympanostomy tubes for OME. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Three academic and general hospitals. PATIENTS Children aged 2 to 7 years with a first clinical episode of OME that persisted for at least 3 months; 136 (81%) of 168 eligible c...

P neumolabyrinth is a condition in which the vestibule and/or cochlea is filled with air. Eustachian tube insufflation (ETI) is a type of treatment for recurrent serous otitis media that is still popular in Europe. It exploits the anti-inflammatory and mucolytic effects of thermal waters containing sulfur and bromo-iodine gas. To our knowledge, no case of a pneumolabyrinth due to barotrauma pro...

The middle ear is the part of the ear that is enclosed behind the eardrum. A tiny tube, called the eustachian tube, drains any fluids from the middle ear into the throat. Colds and episodes of allergic runny nose, due to airborne allergens or allergies to cow’s milk or other foods, block this eustachian tube with mucus and inflammation. When this tiny mucous-membrane-lined canal is closed off, ...

Over a period of 4 years, 420 patients were observed with fullness in the ear, episodic vertigo, fluctuating hearing, and tinnitus. Of them, 182 patients showed normal hearing levels, a mild eustachian tube dysfunction, normal SP/AP ratios, mydriasis on the side of the affected ear, and a functional disorder of the upper cervical spine. These patients responded to conservative management, parti...

In this chapter, I describe the available diagnostic procedures and tests of the structure and function of the Eustachian tube system. In other chapters in this text, I briefly refer to many of these procedures in describing certain aspects of the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of Eustachian tube function and dysfunction and the tubal system’s role in pathogenesis of otitis media and ...